Family Ramblings

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Hoarse, of course

All the emotional highs I experienced last week did me ill -- I have a killer head cold right now. Chills and fever on Sunday but now it's just hoarse voice & achy eyes and stuffed up. Weep.

I had a workshop yesterday that I couldn't cancel -- tried to, but they had out of towners coming for it, and although they suggested that my co-presenter could just use my notes, unfortunately I tend to speak using powerpoint as a "loose" guide. So I went in -- and it went fine. People treated me like a hero. I'm a team player, you know!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

More Good News

I was walking into the school Friday evening last week, when I bumped into the principal. It's a small school, so this wasn't unusual in itself, but she looked at me and said "Oh, Will! I need to talk to you for a second". Now, I don't know exactly why, but whenever a person in authority says that to me, I get a bit worried. Casting my mind back over the last week, I tried to think of anything that I might done wrong as I followed Wendy to her office. "I wanted to tell you about an opportunity this summer that might interest you: a theological college near Oxford wants to do an exchange with us, and they want us to send an Anglican who is strong in New Testament studies. The New Testament Prof recommended you." I was shocked, as you are when someone offers you a free trip to England. "um, well, I'd love to- studying in England has always been a dream, but well, I committed to going to Barkerville..." Wendy told me to take the info and think about it. Leaving her office, I ran into the Professor of Liturgy, who is also an Anglican. He knew about the chance, and asked me what I thought. On hearing that I was committed to Barkerville he just smiled: "leave that to me". A couple of e-mails later, it looks like I will get to do both.

The exchange is for two weeks, July 6-17. It's some classes (all of which are look interesting) with instructors that my New Testament prof knows and likes. We also get to go to the British Museum, Winchester and SalisburyCathedrals, and theBodleian Library in Oxford. I'm pretty pumped.

Friday, March 27, 2009

sick

I have been very sick this week. Strep throat, and my asthema is acting up. Have antibiotics and two new puffers which has helped. I stayed home for 4 days and went in today but only until 2:30. I have coughed so much that my stomach hurts. The good thing about this is I learned from Judith and actually stayed home to look after my self. So I was able to reapply Jude's learnings, I am thinking that is pretty good.

Anne, I have not had time to take pictures of Henry's tatoos' but I will (I hope it spelled it correctly Allison). he finished his engine in shop and it started apparently it sounds very cool and he is happy. Boh moved out he got a job in Dawson Creek, it seems pretty funny not to have him around, he stayed here 5 months and we got used to having him here. He said he will stay in touch, I hope so. Wilf has a sore throat now, I hope he does not get what I had it sucks.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hockey Night In Edmonton

Was disappointing, Edmonton was ahead 1 to 0 for most of the game and then in the third period, the Wings got 3 goals, Edmonton got one more, but lost 3 to 2. It was a good game over all, the Oilers played really well. Sam and Grace came over for supper, which was nice, I have not seen Sam since early January. then we caught the train to the game. My friend Corrie came as well, since Allison could not make it. even though we were pretty high in the seats they sightlines at Rexall are good, and there were not a lot of yahoos around us so a very enjoyable evening.

We are going flat out at work, lots of things due at the same time so the days are flying by. I am really looking forward to having 4 days off at Easter, and seeing some green. Still lots of snow on the ground here, and it is not melting all that quickly. It is reminding me of the year Anne was christened, early April and still tons of snow around.

Grass is Riz

Richard and I spent 2 days at Jones doing spring clean up. It looks much tidier, and croci are blooming. I have to say that the Jones yard is much more interesting than the Blondeaux one. This one needs some interest-lawn is just not where I'm at. The neighbours are going to be ticked at us when we don't apply chemicals and don't water everyday. I did transplant some plants though to put under some trees where the grass wasn't growing anyway-shade loving ones-hostas, bleeding heart, columbine, elephant ears, and lily of the valley. I hope they take. We have 9 trees on this lot! 2 horse chestnut, 2 maples, 1 walnut, 1 honey locust, 1 apricot, and 2 of uncertain lineage. This will mean a whole lot of raking. I hope you all like walnuts because I will be giving them as Christmas presents from now on. The deck we have is really quite nice here though. And Richard is happily planning away on what we should be doing with the yard to get rid of some grass. I will be going over to Jones to pick flowers frequently. There are a few here- a small clump of daylilies, iris, peonies, some unknown stuff-and a large amount of roses, but no bulbs. I am bringing over the lilies and tulips after they bloom at Jones, I don't care where they go, but they are coming over here. The roses intimidate me-I hope they aren't thinking that they will be sprayed and coddled-they will have to toughen up and learn to fight off aphids without drugs.I am almost finished my mental health course. I have basically done all the assignments but am sending them 1 at a time, so as to not appear like I did them all in 2 days-which is what I did. It is better to appear as if I am reflecting as I go along. I was drinking beer while doing the 1 st one and didn't even check it over before I sent it in-lost a mark for reflection of therapeutic alternatives, but considering the beer and lack of any reflection I'd say the 90% is quite alright.I am thinking about doing my master's....Haven't done anything about it yet, but am considering it. I have been doing research for our nursing practice committee and I really like this kind of stuff. I keep thinking, 'I could do a research paper on this'Bought the soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire. VG plus. Contemporary Urban Indian music.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Cheap Tuesday

Movie choices last night: Fired Up (2 jocks go to cheerleading camp) or Knowing (Nicholas Cage and mysterious numbers). So we went to Knowing. It seemed pretty good while we were watching it, but about five steps out of the theatre we thought of about 10 things that didn't make sense. Oh well. Sam was working so we didn't have to pay for popcorn. She said she had a reputation to uphold.Took the afternoon off today and went with my friend Jean from work to have lunch with our friend and former co-worker Carla in Red Deer. It was a good visit and since I was able to get everything done that I needed to do at work in the morning, I am wondering if I have to work full-time. A half-day off a week would come in handy.Got the furnace and window quotes back. Geoff is now trying to talk me out some of my reno plans.Off to give blood.

Monday, March 23, 2009

I'm IN!

Okay -- I just got a call from Elementary Ed here at UA and they have recommended me for acceptance! And, my GPA is good enough to get recommended for a provost's award, which covers 2 years of tuition. HOORAY!

hops

Theresa - what do you do about pruning hops? I have one that grew like crazy last year, but did not shed any leaves or hops in the fall and I don't know if the top is dead or not - do you prune it right back or just tidy it up - no hops in my farden books!Happy to hear that Geoff is feeling so much better - that sounds like a massive reno you're doing.ITS ANOTHER GEORGEOUS SPRING DAY HERE - warm and sunny - most of a week in a row. have been pruning and bagging for yard waste pickup - just feels so great to be outside

Saturday, March 21, 2009

renovating!

Geoff is feeling so much better that he has jumped right into this renovating project even though most of it is my idea. He has pulled most of the ceiling tiles and insulation down in Jack's, measured windows to order new ones, arranged for some furnace people to give us a quote on new furnaces, researched dual-flush toilets and got prices. My contribution to this has been to make a list. And to encourage.(Sensitive kids, avert your eyes for this next paragraph.) The total scope of everything is still in the planning stage, but it looks like we will not do anything structural like moving walls because our thought is to get things looking good, then sell to buy something smaller.

Didn't go to our cheap movie this week because of the choices: Watchmen (again; and Grace says we really wouldn't have liked it) and something called Hotel for Dogs.

First day of spring yesterday; it seemed surprisingly like the last day of winter.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Towel and Linen!

What a delightful surprise today in the mail. Towel to comfort myself in and sheets for Richard and I. I plan to get Richard to wrap me in it and carry me across the road to the duck pond.My family is so much better than anyone could imagine. I am lucky.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Visitor

Last week Geoff went to Calgary and picked up Barb so she could visit for a few days. It was a good visit; I think she saw everyone she wanted to. On Saturday her nephew from Caroline came over for lunch, then Heather and her (very sweet) granddaughter came in the afternoon. Betty Anne and Greg were here for a bit too. It was great to see Barb. Usually she has to rush off but this time we had time for a proper visit. Geoff took her to Wetaskiwin on Monday for the next leg of her visiting.It's still not very nice out. What happened to the concept of spring? It will warm up a bit, just enough to melt water on the sidewalks and trails, then it gets cold again and makes patches of ice everywhere.We are still mostly talking about renovating, but Geoff has started doing some things downstairs. I realized the other day that we really haven't done much maintenance here since we added on 20 years ago, so some things are overdue. I hope we don't improve it so much we don't want to move. I want a smaller house!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Beyond tired of Winter

Ok, it was -40 last week. Yesterday it snowed all day and was -20. Today more snow and -15 is it March or November. Will this cursed winter ever end. Save me from the cold and snow. But no more snow tonight and cold again tomorrow. The weathernetwork says warmer by the weekend but cannot be relied on. Enough whining, I know it will end but I am very tired of grey and snow. I feel better now that I have ranted (I feel very Rick Mercer) without the political commentary.

Find Steph an assistant!

Steph's assistant has quit on her again. (Well, it is a different assistant each time it happens, but you know what I mean). Does anyone know anyone who might be good? If so, please send them this posting! Maybe people who are interested in getting some experience in the non-profit sector...

The Young Alberta Book Society is an over-25 year old charity devoted to the promotion of literacy and a love of reading among young people in Alberta. It coordinates several programs to connect Albertan students with authors, illustrators and storytellers. YABS’ flagship program is the Taleblazers festival, a month-long literary festival for young people. Through Taleblazers, YABS coordinates hundreds of presentations by literary artists in schools and libraries across Alberta in the month of October.

Major Responsibilities: o Develops and implements a communications strategy to inform, educate & build commitment amongst stakeholders and the general public. o Works with the media. o Plans, develops and implements marketing strategies related to YABS programming and fundraising initiatives. o Ensures the production and distribution of key communications materials. o Creates and implements a comprehensive fundraising plan, including some grant writing. o Updates YABS website. o Assists with coordination of YABS programs.o Assists with the Society’s administration.

Applications: o Qualified candidates are invited to direct their applications, with cover letter and o resume, to Stephanie Gregorwich, Executive Director, Young Alberta Book Society by March 21, 2009. Questions may be directed to 780-422-8232. o Via e-mail to: info@yabs.ab.ca -- please note that only PDF or rich text documents o will be accepted. o Via fax: 780-422-8239 o Via mail: YABS, 11759 Groat Road, Edmonton AB T5M 3K6 We thank all applicants for their interest in the competition; however only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

I Should Listen to Allison More Often

At the end of last week, I started feeling kind of like I was getting a cold, so I stayed home and worked from home on Friday, went to bed early and when I woke up on Sat, I felt ok. But as the day wore on I was feeling more and more like I was getting a cold. I bought some ColdFX, because Allison said it really worked for her. On Sunday morning I still felt ill, so I started taking it, and today I feel as though I am all better. thank you Allison.

garden

I have GRAPES in my backyard! Wow! This is very exciting. I had some friends over for Pi Day on Saturday (March 14 = 3/14 = Pi), and they were out exploring my huge yard. One of them is doing his masters on asparagus (yes, really) and wanted to have a garden, but doesn't have a yard of his own. So we struck a deal whereby we'll start a garden together in my yard, with him supplying the expertise and motivation (when I take these projects on they never quite happen) and I will pull some weeds and pay for half of the seeds and whatnot. I emailed my landlady to make sure it's okay, and not only did she say yes and tell me about my little vineyard back there, she said she'll mow the lawn herself! HOORAH.

It's been so gorgeous and sunny lately, so this whole gardening idea seems especially appealing.

By the way, this year the pies I made were Rich Mushroom Pie and fake Key Lime Pie (fake because apparently Key Limes are a special variety - I just had plain old Mexican limes from the grocery store). They both turned out really good and I got a compliment on the mushroom one from a guy who owns a pretty well-regarded restaurant in town. I screwed up the crust on the lime one a bit, but no one seemed to notice...

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Going to Kelowna

I was waffling over going to Kelowna for Easter, I finally called Mom to make sure that there were going to be people around. She said that Jim is planning on coming the week before, and then Sandi will fly down on the weekend, because of a wedding in Oliver, so not only will I get to see the Kelowna people but the Fort St John people too. with Jim at Mom's i asked Lisa and Richard if I would be able to stay with them, Lisa wrote back and said yes, so I am excited to see their new house (and of course them too).

We had a social event at work on Wednesday. Well not at work, it was held at the Metro, which is right next to Latitude. I was not feeling all that social, but as a consultant on the team, thought I better show up. The weather had improved, so I took the opportunity to walk from the Terrace Building, which used up some time. Then I thought, I will just stop by the gallery and say hi to Todd. Spent a few minutes talking with Todd, then over to the party. The food was pretty good, lots of appies, spent about an hour chitchatting then left. The next day I heard there were some people who had a few too many shooters, so were not feeling so great on Thursday. That is the reason I don't like to drink at work functions, bad enough to hang out with people you don't really know and don't really want to see outside of work, but doing something stupid when drinking too much would really be horrible.

There looks like some good people going to Calgary Folk fest, (Justin Rutledge and Tom Wilson) anyone interested in going this year? The Edmonton one also has some good people too, Kathleen Edwards, Fred Eaglesmith and Loudon Wainwright will be there.

While I was downtown today, I ran into someone I knew, which always kind of surprises me. It was a woman I work with at the project (actually someone that I like and would not mind seeing outside of work). I had been at a meeting on Thursday with some of her colleagues from the government. She said that one of the people there, told her that I had done a great job at the meeting, that I really seemed to know what I was talking about. Always nice to get good feedback from people.

Last week we had a Trivial Pursuit game, at lunch, each of the teams from the project played as a team. For awhile it looked like the tech team was going to wipe us, but in the end the HRMS Functional Team won. Jeanne (from Kansas) and I hit a lucky streak, if I did not know the answer she did, so we ended up winning at the end of the hour. All those years of playing TP paid off. The geography questions are a bit funny, you have to think what some of those african countries were called 20 years ago to answer some of the questions.

A Bread Garden just opened up next door (Bread Garden is a coffee shop that does food - panninis and the like). When I say next door, I mean literally thirty feet from my building. This is what living in the city is all about! It might be a problem though, given my love of coffee. I can see myself spending far too much there, especially on the weekends. Just today I've been three times- breakfast, lunch, and meeting a friend for coffee. Although, I did get my coffee at lunch free since it was the third time I'd been in today. And now I'm happily drinking my free coffee, and eating a butter chicken wrap, and waiting for a classmate to discuss the proposed Anglican Covenant. Does life get any better?

They had an open house at school this week - they put prospective students up in the hotel, and showed off the school to them. There were a couple free meals, so I agreed to go along as a current student, and tell everyone how much I like VST. One of the visitors is a woman that I knew from the Cathedral in Victoria.

It was minus four and snowed this week. You all can complain about how cold it is, but at least it's supposed to be like that. I moved here for spring in February, dang it, not snow in March.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Will This Cursed Winter Ever End?

It was -20 or something like that last night. we walked down for a coffee and it was cold. I guess it is sunny, but spring where are you?Our trip to Nakusp was good. We couldn't stay at the usual motel and this other one had poor quality beds, but otherwise it was good. It was cold, so the hotsprings are even better. We went to the usual spot for supper and I had mushroom schnitzel, and then to the usual for breakfast. We recognized people in there from our previous visits. Including this one guy who seems to sit in there all day reading atlases, I think they give him free coffee as he doesn't look like he pays (or could afford to). I think that Theresa and Geoff should move there.I did a ton of research for my nursing practice committee. Thank you UBC library for keeping me on, I can access their articles from home. Sssshhhh, don't tell them, I'm sure they'd boot me off. I read through at least 45 articles and found many more. I still have to finish this freaking mental health course-it hangs over my head like a dark cloud. I like doing research at least, plus manager is paying us for time spent! How can I translate this into a Master's degree being paid for?

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

movie night

Our movie choices for cheap Tuesday were Coraline or Watchmen. Watchmen is 2 hrs 40 minutes long and Coraline is an hour shorter so we picked it. It was really good. I will never look at a button jar the same way again.Geoff is off to Calgary tomorrow to pick Barb up. She will be here till Sunday. I guess Betty Anne and Greg will be here on the weekend so they will drive her to Wetaskiwin on Sunday.It has been dang cold here. We walked to the show and I felt like an icicle by the time we got there. Supposed to start warming up tomorrow though.

Monday, March 09, 2009

An old friend is not well

Laura has just let me know that Rose Pardell has been in hospital for 5 weeks. She was in the bathroom and started coughting and couldn't quit then coughed so much she cracked her spine - can you imagine how awful that would be? She came home last Sun for a visit but after 2 hrs asked to go back to hospital. Ed thinks he could look after her at home, but the kids really don't think so. She has so many health problems and he has his share too - I just feel so bad for them.The Wensinks are off to Nakusp today for an overniter and change of scenery. It is cold here still and the rest of the week looks no better, but I saw in the paper that most of AB is a lot colder and projected snow - must repeat - will this winter never end? This is the longest and coldest in the 30 yrs I've been here.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

As if we are even springing forward

Judith invited Grace, Stan, Bob, and me over for dinner tonight -- we had tasty slow-cooked chicken and rice, I made salad, and Grace made sticky toffee pudding. yum. It was a good visit. Stan and Bob told lots of stories about Grandma and Grandpa, and we talked about Bill and Mom...nothing scandalous, Mom.... Well, actually maybe there is something scandalous! Apparently you used to HITCHHIKE from Calgary to Edmonton to see your family on the weekends!? Did you?

Stan also told the story of when Margaret left home to live at the institution -- he said it was the only time he had ever seen Grandpa cry. Sniff.

Stan looks great. He said he had gained 20 pounds since he was in the hospital. And that he had stopped chemo for 5 weeks while he waited for the blisters on his feet to go away, and the doctor was pleased to see that the cancer hadn't grown during that time. So he he seems to be in good shape and good spirits.

It was a nice time, and Bob said he'd invite us over just as soon as he cleaned off his dining room table. He promised an apple pie. And he's looking for Grandma's fudge recipe -- he said Mom doesn't have it. Does anyone else?

I hate spring forward. I also feel that I somehow lost many hours, not just one. I did reorganize my storage closet and cleaned my house this weekend, though.

I'm reading Wolf Willow by Wallace Stegner -- what a good book. I want to go to Cypress Hills now. If the snow ever melts.

A weekend gone already. It feels as if it was six hours shorter than usual, not one hour.

Went to Max's funeral yesterday in Calgary. It was a good one. There were sure lots of people there. Again I was amazed at all the parts of a person's life that come together at their funeral. Her family said she had been at a funeral last Saturday and on the way tripped and hit her head. Carried on in for the funeral but had a headache that night and died. They also said she had been doing really well lately, had had her bridge club at her place and had got her son to take her to the casino. So it was all a shock for them. It was good to see Heather and Maxine, Barb's daughter, and Tara, one of Barb's granddaughters who is going to school in Calgary. And of course all the Larsons.

The roads were good on Saturday and it was nice and warm in Calgary but is sure cold here now. The wind started howling last night and has been blowing all day. But no new snow.

Looks like Barb will be coming up here sometime next week for a visit. It works out well that Geoff is available to go get her when she's done her visiting in Calgary. We haven't seen her since May.

Geoff had an appointment in Red Deer on Friday afternoon so I took the time off and went with him, then we went looking at bathroom fixtures. We are going to get some dual flush toilets, the town will give you a quite healthy rebate if you replace your old ones. Geoff has been doing the research and we saw some nice plumbing stuff. There seems to be no limit to what you could spend. On Saturday after the funeral we went to Ikea to look at kitchens. We are thinking of putting in kitchen cupboards in Jack's and Ikea's prices are reasonable. Plus you can see them all installed. So we did all that shopping on the weekend and we didn't buy a thing. So much for kick-starting the economy.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

The Lodge is Booked

I have booked the lodge, the cost is 350 per night and I think that is pretty reasonable. Nothing too much new here, it got cold again today, not too sure how long it will last. I am hoping this is still a part of the in like a lion stuff, and March will be out like a lamb.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Max

Sad news. Maxine Larsen died on Saturday night. We got an e-mail from Betty Anne on Sunday, Max's daughter lives in Cold Lake and phoned Betty Anne. Max wasn't doing all that well, but apparently she fell and hit her head and died. Barb is still in Hawaii where she went for her grandson Brad's wedding. I talked to Barb's daughter Maxine tonight who said that Barb will be back on Thursday. So we will be going to Calgary on Saturday for the funeral. Maxine was one of those people you want to live forever because she is so great to be with. I will never forget when we were in Yellowknife last time, Stu arranged a plane ride for us and Max was so happy that the guys were determined to get her up that ladder onto the plane. She cried at the end, she said that would be the last time she would ever see Yellowknife from the air.

What to do?

I emailed the owner of the lodge and he said for insurance purposes they cannot sleep any more than 10. I also looked around at other places, and 10 seems to be the max, unless we have book more than one place. Should I go ahead and book, or does someone else want to take a look and see if they can see anything that might work a little better? Once again your feedback is requested.

Monday, March 02, 2009

Always in someone's shadow

I told this story to Auntie Jude and she said I HAD to post it, so here it is. In English we are just starting to get into our first research paper, so we have had a few classes devoted to teaching us how to cite and such. My prof was telling us that we were going to look at a student's actual essay from last March as an example of how to do it. I was thinking it would be funny if it was Sam's, because he had the same prof last year. Sure enough, she opens it up and there is Sam Ferrey written all over it. You know, I would expect this sort of thing in high school where there are such a limited number of papers to use as examples, but not so much at here in the university, where the population of Rocky could fit several times. I just had to shake my head. Anyway, we found a small error in the works cited page, and she said he should have failed. I laughed.

Slime

Hey dad, forgot to ask you yesterday - did you ever try making your own laundry detergent? I'm still using my first bucket and apart from a few soap spots where I think I didn't dissolve the soap completely when I boiled it, it's been working great.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Golden

Jude/Grace- just had a look at the website for the lodge and it looks wonderful, except that I went to the RATE tab (as you might expect) and it says maximum 10 people- is this just for the lodge, or is there other accomodation ?This was supposed to be a comment, but somehow I am posting a new entry.

Bear Paw Lodge

Grace and I were looking at accommodation in Golden and found this place.It seems like a good possibility for the summer, according to the calendar, it would be available the weekend of the 14th, and we could book for 5 days or so. What does everyone think? If it is ok, let me know and I will make the reservations. How long should we go for? Feedback requested.

news from GP

Wow, you miss a couple of days on the blog and lots sure happens. That is scary about Dennis he is younger than me so you don't expect that.Things are good here, Henry has a new tattoo, it appears his body might be a canvas. Not something I would do but it is his body and his money. He is keeping them in places that are not visible all the time so that is good from my perspective. Henry got his departmental mark for Social it was 85, I was happy I know he is good at the humanities but you have to try for it to show and that is not high on his list of things. Boh is recovering from his surgery it is slow and he is not very patient, maybe he needs Nurse Lisa to help him recover.We have been busy hanging our new pictures, they are of the church at TeePee Creek, I took them and I think they turned out very cool any ways they look good in the dining room I can't figure out how to get a better picture, the stained glass is very cool in this abandoned church in the country.

Things are quiet at work, thankfully. It doesn't last long but I will enjoy it while I can.

Lost Cell Phone

I had a call last week from my favourite niece who lives in Edmonton, asking if I lost my cell phone. Well as it happens, I was not sure, I have not seen it for awhile, but since I don't use it very often, that is not unusual. A lady called Grace, because her number was on my phone,and the lady was cleaning out a Jeep when she found it. I must have lost it when I rented at Christmas time. anyway I called the number, got some guy who said, nope he did not know anything about a found cell phone. That motivated me to call and cancel my phone and get a new one. I feel like kind of a loser(in more than just one sense of the word), but what can you do? I will much more careful with this new phone.

I am starting to feel like winter might be over soon, even though the weather has been cold, it is light when I go to work and not completely dark when I come home, so that puts me in a much better mood. And for the last week or so we have had snow, but also a lot of that beautiful Alberta sky, that is so blue and the sun is shining, so all things considered it is good.

Last week I went ut with some of my work colleagues, to watch the hockey game at a pub. We had a lot of fun, two were people that are from out of town, so travel to Edmonton each week, and one was my friend Corrie, that I have worked with for the last 10 years or so. The best thing was we hardly talked about work at all, we mostly just tried to get to know each other a little better, talking about families, upcoming Vacation plans etc. that is one of the best things about project work meeting new people, that you like.